Tibetans try to march on Chinese embassy in Nepal

DPA Kathmandu, April 2 (DPA) The Nepalese police Wednesday broke up demonstrations by Tibetan exiles near the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu and detained about 35 protestors. Small groups of protestors, including Buddhist monks, who were carrying Tibetan national flags and placards saying, “Free Tibet”, were rounded up by police and taken to detention centres.

The protestors chanted, “Stop killing in Tibet”, and “Long live the Dalai Lama”.

The protest was the latest in the series of anti-China demonstrations by Tibetan exiles in Kathmandu that have been occurring almost daily since March 10, the 49th anniversary of a failed uprising in Tibet against Chinese rule.

It was the second time that the Tibetans had attempted to picket the Chinese embassy since Tuesday.

Nepal has come under severe criticism for its handling of the protests. Police have caused a number of injuries.

On Tuesday, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch jointly wrote to Nepalese Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala expressing concerns about the treatment of Tibetan protestors.

The two international rights organizations said Nepalese police had detained more than 1,500 people and pre-emptively arrested others since the protests began.

“Police have further threatened Tibetan protesters with deportation, which would also constitute a serious violation of Nepal’s international human rights obligations,” the letter said.

More than 20,000 ethnic Tibetans live in Nepal, concentrated mainly in the Kathmandu Valley and the western city of Pokhara.

The figure does not include Tibetans who arrived in the country after 1990 because the Nepalese government stopped registering them then as refugees.